Passionate Spirit: The Life of Alma Mahler
Cate Haste$27.20
$32.00
A new biography of Alma Mahler (1879-1964), revealing a woman determined to wield power in a world that denied her agency
History has long vilified Alma Mahler. Critics accused her of distracting Gustav Mahler from his work, and her passionate love affairs shocked her peers. Drawing on Alma's vivid, sensual, and overlooked diaries, biographer Cate Haste recounts the untold and far more sympathetic story of this ambitious and talented woman. Though she dreamed of being the first woman to compose a famous opera, Alma was stifled by traditional social values. Eventually, she put her own dreams aside and wielded power and influence the only way she could, by supporting the art of more famous men. She worked alongside them and gained credit as their muse, commanding their love and demanding their respect.
Passionate Spirit restores vibrant humanity to a woman time turned into a caricature, providing an important correction to a history where systemic sexism has long erased women of talent.
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 09/10/2019
ISBN: 9780465096718
Pages: 368
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.00w x 1.40d
Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 05/13/2019
Publishers Weekly 05/20/2019 pg. 71
Library Journal 07/01/2019 pg. 70
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2019
Booklist 09/01/2019 pg. 26
Choice 01/01/2020
History has long vilified Alma Mahler. Critics accused her of distracting Gustav Mahler from his work, and her passionate love affairs shocked her peers. Drawing on Alma's vivid, sensual, and overlooked diaries, biographer Cate Haste recounts the untold and far more sympathetic story of this ambitious and talented woman. Though she dreamed of being the first woman to compose a famous opera, Alma was stifled by traditional social values. Eventually, she put her own dreams aside and wielded power and influence the only way she could, by supporting the art of more famous men. She worked alongside them and gained credit as their muse, commanding their love and demanding their respect.
Passionate Spirit restores vibrant humanity to a woman time turned into a caricature, providing an important correction to a history where systemic sexism has long erased women of talent.
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 09/10/2019
ISBN: 9780465096718
Pages: 368
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.00w x 1.40d
Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 05/13/2019
Publishers Weekly 05/20/2019 pg. 71
Library Journal 07/01/2019 pg. 70
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2019
Booklist 09/01/2019 pg. 26
Choice 01/01/2020